Chartering New Student Organizations Guide

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Guide to Chartering A New Student Organization

Requirements: A group of 10 or more full-time students wishing to form an organization and seek official status from the university by obtaining a charter may do so, provided the following requirements are met:

1. The group does not duplicate an existing organization. 

2. The purpose is to ensure continuity and stability of the organization. 

3. The group does not organize under the sponsorship of an existing organization. 

4. If nonstudents are affiliated with the organization in a capacity other than an advisory role, they may only be associate members. Associate members may not hold office or vote.

5. The organization must have an advisor who is a full-time faculty or staff member at the university. 

Steps to Follow

Submit the application. (Applications for Fall 2024 are closed. The application will open for Spring 2025 in early January). 

Have ready to upload with the application:

• Organization Constitution (Sample constitution to reference here)
• Letter of support from advisor of the organization. This should be 2-3 sentences briefly explaining the advisor's agreement to serve and understanding of the role and responsibilities on official USM letterhead with signature.
• Letter from department which proposed organization will affiliate, if applicable. 

After submitting the application, you will recieve an email from the Office of Leadership and Student Involvement in regards to the next step.

Organizational Meetings

• Three meetings may be held prior to the official chartering of the organization. Business during these meetings should be limited to constitution drafting and forming the structure of the proposed organization. 
• Groups should reach out to Leadership and Student Involvement at LSIFREEMississippi%20and note they are a proposed new group requesting a meeting space and LSI will reply with your next steps.